Pakistan can survive without US’ aid like it did in past: FM Asif

Foreign Minister (FM) Khawaja Muhammad Asif said on Thursday that Pakistan is able to survive without the aid from US, like it did in the past when the US suspended assistance to Pakistan.

The remarks came days after US President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of giving Washington “nothing but lies and deceit”. Trump had said Washington had “foolishly given Pakistan more than $33 billion in aid over the last 15 years”, but Pakistan had in return given “safe haven to the terrorists we hunt in Afghanistan, with little help”.

Talking at a private TV channel, FM Asif elaborated that it is not the first time that US has threatened to suspend the financial assistance to Pakistan. Referring to the Pressler Amendment, he said, “They did it in the past as well, which is evident from our history. They have always betrayed us in hard times.”

Asif held both the US and India responsible for the prevailing unrest in the region, saying that the “instability in the region suits both the US and India.”

“There is a nexus between the US and India, they share the same stakes,” Asif said, adding that the US wants to use India like they used Pakistan in the past, or maybe a step further.

The minister said Washington and New Delhi believe that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project was posing threats to their interests. “The US and India have constituted a joint front against the CPEC,” he maintained.

Asif declared that US has suffered huge losses in Afghanistan. There is no organised presence of terrorists on Pakistani soil, he said, adding that the reduced number of drone attacks is a proof of this.

“China, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Russia, and Iran expressed complete solidarity with us after August 21 speech of Trump,” he said. “We are not diplomatically isolated,” he added.